Fab Melo leaving Syracuse for NBA

DIGEST

Staff and news services

Published
4:00 am PDT, Friday, April 6, 2012

Syracuse center Fab Melo is entering the NBA draft after a breakout season in which he twice was held out because of eligibility issues. The 7-foot sophomore from Brazil averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds for Syracuse (34-3), led the Big East in blocks per game and was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.

Melo missed three games in late January because of an academic issue, was reinstated, and just before the start of the NCAA Tournament was ruled ineligible again and did not play another game.

-- The NCAA turned down what Connecticut says is its final appeal for a waiver of academic requirements that would allow the Huskies to play in next season's postseason tournament. UConn doesn't qualify for the tournament because of below-standard academic results, but it requested a waiver after saying it had instituted changes that improved scores.

-- Western Kentucky guard Derrick Gordon said he's transferring after leading the Hilltoppers in scoring and rebounding on their way to an unlikely NCAA Tournament bid.

-- Murray State point guard Isaiah Canaan said he'll return for his senior year after leading the Racers to their best season in school history.

ELSEWHERE

Cal rallies to beat USC on the road

Down 4-0, Cal scored five runs in the last four innings, highlighted by Mitch Delfino's game-tying single and Tony Renda's game-winning double, as the Bears (17-10, 2-5 Pac-12) won 5-4 at USC (17-10, 3-6).

Senior right-hander Joey Donofrio earned his first collegiate save by striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth.

-- Mark Appel (4-1) retired 15 in a row and pitched a four-hitter as No. 6 Stanford (18-6, 3-4) opened its series at Washington (16-10, 3-4) with a 5-2 win.

Tennis: Venus and Serena Williams reached the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., with straight-set victories.

Venus defeated Anastasia Rodionova 7-5, 6-2 on center court shortly after Serena ousted Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-2. Should the sisters win Friday, it would set up a Saturday semifinal showdown.

The two haven't faced each other since Serena took the title at the 2009 WTA Championships in Qatar to take a 13-10 edge in the family rivalry.

College hockey: Kyle Bonis had two goals, and Ferris State beat Union 3-1 in Tampa, Fla., to advance to its first NCAA men's ice hockey championship game Saturday. It will face Boston College, a 6-1 winner over Minnesota.

Soccer: Bolton manager Owen Coyle said Fabrice Muamba has started walking again, less than three weeks after his on-field cardiac arrest during the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Cycling: Santa Rosa's Levi Leipheimer will be sidelined indefinitely after breaking his left leg when he was hit by a car Sunday in training. His Omega Pharma-Quickstep team said he was preparing for the Tour of Basque Country.

Obituary: Former Cowboys assistant coach Joe Avezzano died in Italy. He was 68. Mr. Avezzano coached the Cowboys' special teams during the team's heyday in the 1990s, which included three Super Bowl championships. He was named special teams coach of the year three times.